HAMBURG is always worth a visit by Klaus Metzger (books to read now txt) 📖

Now (2006) we know the interesting part of Hamburg can be a little closer and it should be up to the weekend of 19 on the 20th Last February 2011 until we visited the beautiful Hamburg. This time the occasion was our 13th Wedding anniversary (February 20, 1998 we got married in a civil ceremony in Hildesheim).

We started on Saturday 19th February 2011, with our Opel Combo Tour at 11 clock and were 13 clock 30 in Hamburg before the Steigenberger Hotel (this time we had it once looking). To our surprise, the parking garage of the hotel was busy. I waited in the parking zone and Jutta inquired at the Steigenberger hotel after parking. She came back with a hotel servant in livery, who invited our suitcase on the luggage cart. He took us to our room and then drove my car into the garage (which I found befitting correctly).

Since we had not taken any lunch, we went to the already known Bistro am Fleet , where we ate an excellent salad and enjoyed the conclusion of a delicious cake. To 18 clock we settled for the visit of the new musical " Sister Act ", which took place in the Operetta House in St. Pauli. This time we saved us a taxi and drove the three stops from Rödingsmarkt to St. Pauli (fare € 1,30 pp) with the subway. The event (shortly after the premiere) was very well attended and we had very nice seats in row 20 (position 17 and 18).

 


Ready for the musical " Sister Act " in St. Pauli

 

With the same enthusiasm with which we had experienced in November 2006, the musical "The Lion King" in Hamburg, we now enjoyed the famous musical " Sister Act " . This time we wanted to then not go to sleep immediately and we chose the smoking area at the piano bar at the Steigenberger Hotel for a  "nightcap" . We stayed up to 1 clock 30 and talked exquisite. At the cloakroom at the piano I took our coats (it was the last one) on the way up. In the room, I realized that it was not at my coat . I immediately went to inform the hotel reception to the staff about the confusion. Since morning at 9 clock the misunderstanding was not clear, I had already written off my coat (I left my business card but as a precaution). At 10 clock rang in the room my cell phone: a "small" lady had made my coat at the front desk and apologized for their mistake.
 

During our early piece, the friendly ceremony that I already at my 62 repeated Birthday (2006) had met at the Steigenberger Hotel: this time there was again a decorated plate - now with the inscription " To the Wedding " . The table was very lovingly decorated with red hearts. Jutta liked it all so well that they for their 55th Birthday a double room for the weekend of 7 to 9 October has reserved at the Steigenberger Hotel 2011. Then we will also take a personal guided tour and a tour with the St. Pauli night watchman. We are looking forward to it.

A great frame for the anniversary

 

 

The birthday plate at the Steigenberger Hotel

Over the years a very close relationship with Hamburg has arisen and I have reported in detail in the previous chapters. We live in Hildesheim, accessed via the motorway, this interesting port city in less than two hours. Together we love to celebrate special birthdays and wedding anniversaries at the Steigenberger Hotel and then visit a selected theater show .

 

This time we celebrated the 55th Birthday (I am 12 years older), my second wife, Jutta Hartmann Metzger. We arrived early Friday afternoon of 7 October 2011 in Hamburg and studied - as usual - once the entrance to the parking garage of the Steigenberger Hotel. But this time we were very quickly found, as we saw a sign at the hotel entrance. The reserved room 201 is not yet available. That's why we went to the Bistro am Fleet ( BAF) to get something to eat lunch and then to drink coffee. This is also a tradition, because in this way we coordinate on "Hamburg" one.

 

 The new Ohnsorg Theater
 

To 19 clock 30 we took a taxi to the new Ohnsorg theater near the main train station. There was the song " En Sommernachtsdroom " (after Shakespeare) on Platt. After a short familiarization time I could understand the text to some extent. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I (1977-1980) learned in Denmark fluent Danish. In the subsequent time in Holland (1980 to 1984) then came even to Dutch. However, this is already some time ago. Also JUTTA had no difficulty in understanding the text and we have delicious amused.

 

 

City tour (red)

 

The following Saturday morning , 8 October 2011 , a city tour was provided. We solved two days cards (a total of 30 euros) so that we could hop on and off any road. The red double-decker bus was almost fully occupied at 10 clock at the Steigenberger hotel and we were only at the bottom of a place. In the St. Michaelis church, we could not get out, unfortunately, because the parking lot was crowded with buses.

 

 City tour

 

So we decided, after the city tour on foot to visit the church (it was indeed not too far from the Steigenberger Hotel). The bus drove through St. Pauli and a companion explained to us in great detail (in German and English) on local conditions on. This has us very well fallen. In the St. Pauli Landing Bridges (No. 1 in the plan) many passengers left the bus and we could change up. Jutta occupied the rear seat and I came to. What I did not know: in the right corner of the closed sliding roof of the bus was leaking and it had rained in, so that the seat was wet in the corner. Although I was warned by Danes something incomprehensible in English. But that was too late, because I now had a wet " pants ". During the day this started drying out .

 

 

 Hotel am Hafen

 The tour continued to HafenCity and we saw the expensive construction of the new Elbe Philharmonic Hall.

 

 
Elbe Philharmonic Hall (from the tower of St. Michaelis)

Then we arrived at the main train station (No. 6 in the diagram). There was a long pause and I took the opportunity for multiple photos. And I also realized how close the Ohnsorg theater was at the station.

 

 Central Station

 

At the Kunsthalle past (where we were on Sunday morning, the "Max Liebermann - painting exhibition visit)  we went through the Lombard bridge that separates the internal from the outer Alster lake .

 

 Inner Alster
 

About 13 clock we came to the town hall market. There we left the bus, because we wanted to look around at the town hall and take a little break tasting .

 

 town hall

 

For Jutta were particularly interesting the Alster arcades. I found the swans in Alsterfleet at the exit to the Inner Alster interesting. In the Alsterarkaden we saw how close the Steigenberger Hotel was removed. Therefore, we went on Alsterfleet along to the hotel and from there to St. Michaelis Church.

 

 

The Steigenberger Hotel in the background

 

The climb to the observation Plattformes the tower was indeed tedious, but it was worth it. JUTTA waited in the church for me. There we discovered interesting commemorative plaques.

 

 The Port of Hamburg

 

 
The Town Hall

 

 Fallen in China and Africa

 

From the tower we discovered the entrance to the below lying Krameramtsstuben. These are small apartments for widows, who in the 17th centuries were built.

 

 Krameramtsstuben

 

After these interesting attractions Hamburg's we were against 16 clock again in our hotel. We rested a bit and visited about 18 clock the opposite restaurant "Ständige Vertretung ". JUTTA quickly recognized the negative atmosphere in this place and wanted to leave immediately. I asked her to stay after all. But then confirm once again their sense: the food was bad and the service rude and overwhelmed. The rest of the evening spent at the piano bar at the Steigenberger Hotel and forgot very quickly the negative experiences with the restaurant - yet because of the special kindness of the operator.

 

 Max Liebermann

 

 The parrot man

 

After the excellent (and highly recommended) breakfast at our hotel we went on Sunday morning, the 9th October 2011, on the Inner Alster over and above the dam to Ballin Kunsthalle. There we expected a cultural highlight: the Max Liebermann painting exhibition " pioneer of modernism ". It gave us great pleasure to follow the development of this famous painter in the various exhibition rooms (this also helped us a player with headphones). After two hours we picked up our car with the luggage from the parking garage of the Steigenberger Hotels and drove in nice weather and very laid back to Hildesheim. And again we had spent a wonderful weekend in Hamburg.

Beautiful as it gets: "The Phantom of the Opera"

 

 

 

View of the Inner Alster Lake

 

As I have mentioned in several travel reports, we maintain wedding anniversaries and birthdays selected in a special place to celebrate with a cultural event. This time (on the weekend of 22 to 24 February 2014) we had another Hamburg chosen because we wanted to visit the exquisite musical highlight "The Phantom of the Opera".
 

We were on the weather conditions in February somewhat uncertain (a year ago in Amsterdam, we had ice and snow experienced). That's why we wanted to go to Hamburg originally by train from Hildesheim. About the complicated online order has JUTTA, the internet is very experienced so annoyed that we first decided on the Fernbus (meinfernbus.de). About this elegant and inexpensive way (44, - Euro for round trip for 2 people) to travel, we were very pleased and will use this experience more in the future .

 

 

A Fernbus at the bus station

 

After a little over two hours, we arrived on Saturday afternoon on time at the bus station in Hamburg. Since I knew the approximate path of the reserved Steigenberger Hotel, we walked over the Mönckebergstreet Town Hall Square. From there we could see the